Even though this is a prequel to 1941's The Little Foxes, you don't have to know the original story to appreciate the back story behind the characters. In fact, I was mostly confused during the first half, trying to piece together what I remembered from the earlier movie, and once I stopped trying, the movie became much more enjoyable.
If you do know The Little Foxes, this movie shows you how Bette Davis's and Charles Dingle's characters became conniving and evil in their youth. Still living under their parents' roof, they long to break free and live their own lives, and money, power, and status threaten their journey to the top. Ann Blyth plays a young Bette Davis and Edmond O'Brien plays a young Charles Dingle. Vladimir Pozner's screenplay shows great parallels to Lillian Helman's story and characters, but even if you're not familiar with them, it's still an entertaining movie with backstabbing and double-crosses galore.
As you might remember from 1941, Charles Dingle was married to the unhappy, repressed Patricia Collinge. While we do see Patricia's younger self portrayed by Betsy Blair, it's an even more interesting parallel to see the family's matriarch, Florence Eldridge, and how similar those two characters are. Fredric March plays the family patriarch, and he's extremely effective as overbearing, stubborn, and mean. A very cute tie to both versions is Dan Duryea, who plays his own father - or his own son, depending on which movie you watch first. In Another Part of the Forest, Dan plays the young, irresponsible brother recklessly in love with a can-can dancer. In The Little Foxes, he's the slimy young son who also does something reckless that affects the rest of the family.
Believe it or not, I liked Another Part of the Forest far better than The Little Foxes. The acting is splendid, and everyone tries very hard to mirror their predecessors, with the exception of Ann Blyth. Had she put on a Bette Davis impression, it would have been too comical, so instead she's a beautiful Southern belle in her own right whom audiences can imagine later turned into Bette Davis. The plot is easier to follow, and while it's still a very heavy drama, it's not as upsetting as watching Herbert Marshall in a wheelchair back in 1941. Check this one out, and think about skipping the original.
